DD's Style File - Pretty in Penny Chic

People ask me where I shop all the time.

If you're a regular visitor to my blog then you know my shopping locales run the gamut. But I typically respond that I shop "everywhere and anywhere." And it's true. A couple of my favorite purchases, like this one, happen to come from Walmart.



I have to admit that I wasn't very familiar with Penny Chic's blog, I think I found out about it by reading about her upcoming Walmart dress launch in a magazine or something. I thought all the dresses in The Little Black Dress Collection were cute and mostly work friendly, but my utmost fav was the Utility dress.

Which of course was a last minute addition to the line, so it had a later production release date than the others. (this is how things always go in my world)

So I did what every natural shopaholic does and set a calendar reminder on my phone so that I could jump online and snap up my pieces (I do this regularly for Target launches). For me, shopping the Penny Chic line turned out to be a bit of an adventure.

Because I know Walmart's sizing can be off (I used to shop the now defunct Norma Kamali line - which I loved), I originally ordered two of the dresses, the Classic and the Peplum, in a size large. Because my thighs and rear bumper tend to need room. But they were a tad too roomy, so I returned them and then ordered them in a size down, plus the Skater.

Black dress - Walmart via eBay
Snakeprint wedges - Worthington for JCPenney
Black handbag - B. Makowsky
Snakeprint bow belt - The Limited
Snakeprint cuff, earrings & necklace - The Limited

The fit was better but just not as flattering on me as I had hoped. Though I'd seen them on other bloggers across the web and they looked awesome. So, I kept just the Classic, just because, and waited, waited, waited for the Utility.

If I recall correctly it was released a bit later than had been announced, but it was finally here and that was all I cared about. No reviews were posted yet when I ordered the medium, based on the experiences with the other dresses. Bad decision. As absolutely adorable as it looked, the next morning I found it was more junior sized than the others and crawled up my legs with every step as I ran out the door for work. And there I was, trying to tug it downward, desperately wishing for a smaller behind or more dress material.

Not a good look.

I spent the day at the office feeling wildly overexposed, so I hid out in my cubicle for as much of it as I could.

I went back to check out reviews and found that I wasn't alone in being surprised by the sizing. However, to my total and utter dismay, the larges were all sold out. Of course.

So, y'all know how I do... I stalked eBay in hopes of finding one, preferably new, and not grossly marked up.

And patience truly can be a virtue, because whaddya know, I run into one last week. Brand new and $20 with free shipping with a Buy It Now option. SOLD! To the obsessive compulsive budgetnista.

And I was deliriously happy in my Walmart Penny Chic dress as I strutted into the office this morning, no tugging necessary. (Can't y'all tell I felt fabulous lol)


And despite all the bumps and stumbles, I still give Shauna Miller's collab a thumbs up! If there was a follow up collection, you could count me in!